Author Topic: Crossroads in Life - where to live?  (Read 5142 times)

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catalinacisne

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Crossroads in Life - where to live?
« on: Jun 20, 2009, 10:34 pm »
Hokay so. I am a recent college grad who will be pursuing a career in stage management. This summer I am interning with Shakespeare Santa Cruz, and in the fall will be stage managing The Sound of Music for a local community theater. My tentative plan is to get a day job where I can actually earn money while bolstering my resume working for community theaters for the next year while staying with my mom to maximize money-saving potential, and then move. My request for advice is: where do I move?

I'm looking for a place that has a lot of community and regional/professional theatre, so that I can gain experience and move up in my career and such, but also isn't over-saturated with people so that I can still find a day job. Huge cities (NYC, Chicago) intimidate me (in a public safety realm, not in my abilities as an SM). San Francisco is too pricey for me. In brainstorming, I've come up with Seattle, Minneapolis, Miami, San Diego, and DC. I was wondering if people had other suggestions?

Thank you so much!
Caitlin

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Re: Crossroads in Life - where to live?
« Reply #1 on: Jun 22, 2009, 01:38 pm »
I don't have other ideas, but I'll cast a vote for Mineapolis.  I wasn't of an age to work as an SM when I lived there, but I know my Dad never had any trouble finding acting work when he wanted it, and I did do some work in pit orchestras.  Lots of theatre of all sizes, some paid, some not.

Good luck, let us know what you decide!
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MatthewShiner

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Re: Crossroads in Life - where to live?
« Reply #2 on: Jun 22, 2009, 04:24 pm »
I have been in DC for five years; I can answer specific questions about DC - but looking at your list . . . I have no info about Minneappolis, Seattle is good theatre town, I don't know of much theatre in Maimi - I lived in San Diego, and not sure there is enough theatre to make a living wage - until you get to the big three regional theatres there in town.
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nmno

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Re: Crossroads in Life - where to live?
« Reply #3 on: Jun 22, 2009, 05:24 pm »
San Diego - I was there 10 years when I was first starting out (wow, was it really 10 years ago?)  And had a hard time there breaking in.  The problem I found was that the 2 major theatres, La Jolla Playhouse and Old Globe, are both associated with universities and so I found that I wasn't able to get my foot in the door there.  And I just didn't find enough work at the smaller theatres.   I kept getting work in the Bay Area so eventually made a permanent move up north.

Chicago - I know you said you weren't interested but have you been?  Chicago doesn't have the feel of a big city to me.  It is really spread out but really broken up into neighborhoods which makes it feel smaller. As a woman, I've felt very safe here.  Frankly, I'd worry more for your safety in San Fran, which also feels more "city" to me.  There is a lot of theatre here, different types of theatre, and they seem pretty healthy (financially speaking).  There's a pretty big range from community to professional so there's a lot of room to grow.  You can live relatively cheaply here, public transportation gets you anywhere you want to go and runs late into the evening if not 24 hours.  Very friendly city and a little slower pace considering it's size (it is the mid-west after all). 

San Fran/Bay Area - I don't know if I'd give up on it quite yet.  There are a lot opportunities for someone starting out.  Yes it's expensive but any city with enough culture to have a lot of theatre is probably not going to be cheap.  Minneapolis is probably the only city on your list that would be "cheaper" but there's a reason it's cheaper...  Do you like winter?

KMC

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Re: Crossroads in Life - where to live?
« Reply #4 on: Jun 22, 2009, 07:06 pm »
I've lived in Miami for about three years and don't know of a big local (and paid) theatre scene.  There are three road houses in the Southeastern FL metro area (one each in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach), all are beautiful facilities and have some good shows, theatrical and otherwise, tour through.  It's definitely been nice as five or six close friends from my past have toured through the area at one point or another.  However, as a local SM I don't know how much work is actually down here.

The city itself is... interesting...  A lot of good and a lot of bad, and definitely a good place to be when you're young.  It's incredibly diverse, which is great, but a large portion of the ethnic groups tend to stay with their own.  Excellent night life, and excellent weather come October - May.  Cost of living is high - not quite as high as NYC, LA or Boston, however I'd put it approximately on par with Chicago and Vegas.  Not sure if you will be around tonight at 9pm, but stop by the chat if you'd like to me to elaborate or if you have specific questions about Miami.
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crazylady

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Re: Crossroads in Life - where to live?
« Reply #5 on: Jun 23, 2009, 10:26 am »
Milwaukee is actually pretty cool...although in the winters it's REALLY COLD. Chicago is also nice, it has that small town feel to it, but it's Chicago (and i mean that in a good way). Sanfran is LOVELY. I really wish I could afford to live there, there are a lot of really good theatres and places to work. But that's the thing - there are great theatres everywhere. So it's really, what kind of weather climate do you want to live in and how much do you think you can afford? Personally, I've never felt like I had to live in a specific place, I live by the motto regarding jobs, go where the job is. That may change eventually.....but living the life of a gypsy isn't so bad.  :D
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maximillionx

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Re: Crossroads in Life - where to live?
« Reply #6 on: Jun 23, 2009, 05:37 pm »
Hey catalinacisne, I'm also a recent college grad so good luck to you! I'm also trying to find my footing.  I'm working in a theatre in N. Rhode Island, while commuting from the South Shore of Mass.  I always liked the Boston theatre scene, even though people say it's hard to break into (I still haven't yet...).  If you don't mind working crews and working in other venues, like concerts, then you figure that everyone knows everyone else, at least in my experience.  Especially since I went to school in RI. Such a small state!

Best of luck!

missliz

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Re: Crossroads in Life - where to live?
« Reply #7 on: Jun 23, 2009, 07:55 pm »
Houston and San Diego are both big places to "test" shows before they move to New York. Lots of quality work being done there, and not as big as The Big Ones.
I personally would like to bring a tortoise onto the stage, turn it into a racehorse, then into a hat, a song, a dragon and a fountain of water. One can dare anything in the theatre and it is the place where one dares the least. -Ionesco

 

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